With all of the recent press celebrating Alice Waters and her recipes from the past 40 years, I was inspired – in “Julie & Julia” fashion – to create some of her signature dishes. Pulling from the San Francisco Chronicle Decade 2 recipes, a delicious Baked Goat Cheese With Garden Lettuces served as a combination salad and cheese course. Goat cheese disks soaked up extra virgin olive along with fresh thyme and rosemary from the garden, then rolled in bread crumbs made from a whole wheat walnut sourdough baguette. These were baked and placed on a bed of arugula, dressed with sherry and red wine vinegars and oil. A “Thyme In” feature from the Wall Street Journal captured my attention with a Chicken with Garlic Purée and Zucchini Salad recipe. Raw summer squash from the Fillmore Farmers Market came alive in a marinade of Meyer lemon juice, basil and parsley. The savory roasted garlic purée electrified succulent grilled chicken breasts accented with sage, oregano and thyme. A perfect wine pairing was found with Husch Vineyards Mendocino Chardonnay made from sustainably grown grapes. A toast to Alice and her legacy of fresh, simple food!
Grilling for Burners
It’s time once again for a Bon Voyage meal for those headed to the Black Rock Desert, embarking this year on their “Rite of Passage”. The meal highlight for My Burner was a Grilled Chicken and Corn Salad with Avocado and Parmesan, a recipe from Real Simple magazine. Kosher chicken from Trader Joe’s and organic white corn from the Fillmore Farmers Market were grilled stovetop, along with a baguette brushed with oil infused with basil. This dish was delightfully simple to make, thanks in part to some knowledge just learned from Food & Wine magazine about removing corn kernels from the cob. Using a bundt pan, you place the ear in the center hole and then slice off the kernels; they fall weightlessly right into the pan. Luscious red strawberries from Medina Berry Farms (also found at the Fillmore Farmers Market) were the Sweet Send Off.
Sicily in San Francisco
Food & Wine’s September 2011 issue promised Sicilian flavor with a fresh Garlic-Tomato Sauce using orange zest and saffron. Let the vicarious travel expedition begin! Early Girl Tomatoes from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, first softened with garlic and red pepper then simmered with precious saffron and oregano, filled the air with sensuous aroma. True Wild Cod fillets (discovered at AK Meats on Clement Street) nestled in the sauce topped Arborio Rice scented with fragrant orange zest, bay leaves and cloves. Grilled Eggplant, roasted walnuts and ricotta cheese on arugula was the perfect accompaniment. With the season’s bounty of Meyer Lemons and Blackberries, the ChezHelvetica dessert this evening featured a Williams-Sonoma recipe for Lemon Bread. A sweet lemony syrup with blackberries drenched the bread for a fitting end to our journey!
Independence Day!*!*!
Celebrating freedom this Fourth of July with the incredible bounty of our country! With a nod to the diversity of this nation, flavors were All-American, Mexican and Italian. The American component was a Lemony Potato Salad, a recipe from Epicurious, offering the zing of Meyer Lemon juice and zest, crunchy celery and buttery Yukon Gold Potatoes. Luscious creme fraiche enriched the dressing. Guacamole and chips, a natural segue from the U.S. to Mexico, took a twist with the use of cumin along with sweet red onion to flavor the organic avocado. Primavera Butternut Squash Tamales, filled with corn and Jack Cheese, paired with a new partner –Dave’s Gourmet Roasted Red Pepper Chipolte Hot Sauce. This delicious sauce delivered smoky soft fireworks! Savory Aidell’s Italian Sausages completed our entree and sweet ripe strawberries completed our holiday meal. With a salute to the Armed Forces and my Father, the folded flag was used to adorn the table.
Skewered
It’s Summer Solstice! As apropos, this evening’s entree featured something grilled – Grilled Oregano Prawns, an inspiration from Epicurious. With fresh oregano from our garden, sweet red onion and succulent prawns (from local market, AK Meats), this first of the season venture was off to a great start. A French Fingerling Potato Salad was the perfect complement with its buttery potatoes from Zuckerman Farms (purchased at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market) and a piquant sherry, shallot vinaigrette. Warm multi-grain bread from Grace Baking sopped up the dressing as we enjoyed a golden Chardonnay from BR Cohen. Ya gotta have ice cream as your dessert on an occasion like this and Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Ice Cream was the ultimate choice!
Mother’s Day
Celebrating Mother’s Day with the most incredible, inspirational, creative, strong woman. The menu featured all her favorites, from Caesar Salad, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Rosemary to Lobster Thermidor. This classic recipe, originated in the 1940’s by Gourmet chef Lois P. DeGouy, received a San Francisco touch with Baby Shiiatake Mushrooms from the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market. Fire engine red lobster tails, doused in an intoxicating thermidor sauce with sherry, were declared “Most Delicious Ever” by the honored guest. A baguette from Grace Baking soaked up the sauce and the salad dressing as the sun illuminated our celebration. Linens used also encompassed the classic and current with handmade placemats and napkins from Willemstad, Curacao, purchased decades ago on a Royal Viking Line cruise, to a new table cloth from 24th Street. The eternal dessert of choice – a Hot Fudge Sundae – was the perfect sweet ending to our special occasion!
In What Way Do You Find This Night Different?
The leader of our Passover Seder posed this traditional question to the Chosen Family and Friends present. The Wise Son quickly responded with a non-traditional answer: Matzo! The same could be said for the first Italian Seder at ChezHelvetica, “From San Francisco to Siena”. Drawing from archives of classic Italian Passover recipes, together with suggestions from Chef Claudio, the menu came to life. Our first course featured Laura Chenel chèvre spiked with minced garlic and parsley and wrapped in Breseola with Mission figs. A tantalizing Matzo Ball Soup made with matzo meal and ground chicken followed along with Italian Charoset bursting with fragrant spices, orange, almonds and luscious dried fruits. We reclined, thanks to Alois Lageder Pinot Grigio, Pio Cesare Barolo and Villa Antinori Toscana wines. Ah, the main course — Spigola Arrosta, Red Snapper (delivered to Antonelli’s Market that morning) accented with rosemary and anchovies then slow roasted on a grill, Porcini Matzo Polenta enhanced with basil and oven roasted artichoke hearts with garlic. For dessert, beautiful sweet strawberries from a roadside stand in Rio Vista and French Vanilla yogurt from Trader Joe’s with incredible Ricciarelli di Siena, almond and meringue cookies dusted with confectioners’ sugar. An almost biblical journey to freedom and epicurean delight!
A Lucky Dinner
The luck of the Irish and the fine shops in San Francisco came to the table this St. Patrick’s Day. Shenson’s corned beef from Costco, roasted in a convection oven, brought smiles even to the leprechaun. Or maybe it was the Guinness Draught?! Pureed herb roasted root vegetables and yams, combined with cream cheese, made a wonderful spread for the Irish Soda Bread. Fresh from the ovens of John Campbell’s Irish Bakery, this raisin-studded bread was the best I have ever tasted. A radish, parsley and green onion salad – along with an “artichoke heart four leaf clover” – completed the holiday meal. Yep, feeling lucky!
And Now a Volcano!
With earthquakes and tsunamis on my mind, the flowing Garlic Volcano Bread at Boudin Bakery certainly caught my attention. Happily, this delicious bread proved the perfect accompaniment to Spaghetti And Meatballs Allamatriciana. This recipe from Bon Appétit Everyday Meals provided a new twist on the traditional dish with the use of mouthwatering applewood smoked bacon as the charcuterie of choice in combination with ground beef, panko breadcrumbs aromatics and the spices. Let the truth be known that instead of using the tomato sauce ingredients from the recipe, I used Prego tomato sauce left over from Burning Man. The organic Trader Joe’s whole wheat spaghetti couldn’t have been happier. The Wall Street Journal’s “Off Duty” section inspired our salad. The ChezHelvetica version used horizontally sliced Tory Farms navel oranges, arugula, goat cheese and toasted walnuts with a balsamic vinaigrette enhanced by Italian parsley and fresh oregano from our garden. And ZAP, a tantalizing bottle of Zynthesis Zinfandel quaffed our thirst!
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Vitamin C
While most people are somewhat cognizant of trying to eat a healthy diet, perhaps even Michelle Obama, Alice Waters and my own Mother would be impressed with the latest dish served at ChezHelvetica. Thanks to Michael Chiarello of Food Network fame, the Arugula Pesto with Pine Nuts recipe called for the inclusion of Vitamin C. So – from the medicine cabinet to the Cuisinart, a half tab of Vitamin C was pulverized, providing a subtle flavor similar to lemon. The pesto dressed whole wheat fettucinne (from Pezzini Farms in Castroville) and seared ahi tuna (from Costco). The aforementioned three women may be less impressed with the health benefits of the dessert – multiple See’s Candies, left over from Valentine’s Day. Life – it’s all about balance, right?!